Come Away
by To Be A Necessity
Summary: Clare Edwards decides to run away.
1. Effervescent Waves

**For all of the readers of Mysteries and Two Birds One Stone: I am so sorry that I haven't been updating! School is starting next week, but I plan to keep updating-hopefully regularly.**

**This also isn't like your usual Clare Edwards. I've added part of me to her character so it would be unique like most stories I have read on fanfic =)**

**I do not own Degrassi**

* * *

Clare watched as high tide came once again, breathing the scent of the salty water deeply. This was just what she had needed to have; a calm atmosphere. After she had had a tantrum with her parents, she had run out of the house with a duffel bag filled with clothing and plenty of water.

"_If you guys can decide things on your own, so can I!" She angrily shouted as her parents looked at her, dumbfounded at what she had just said. Helen and Randal had been fighting for weeks, bringing Clare to a decision that she never thought she would come to-running away._

She didn't remember how long she had been running for before she found the beach; she had left at noontime Saturday night. Her departure from her home was almost a day ago, and no one had bothered to even _call_ to see what had happened to her. Would anyone call to see why she wouldn't be in school the next day, or the day after that? A tear trickled down her cheek, wondering if she was worth living for.

Now she was on the edge of a walk that led about a mile out into the ocean, her feet dangling from the edge. She watched as the water underneath her stayed effervescent, and she smiled gently at it. The ocean always calmed her.

The water reminded her of something else, something that she had left behind in her homey town; Elijah Goldsworthy. After the _Night in Vegas_ incident, he had been in the hospital for days, and she had been there every hour that he was awake. Clare enjoyed watching Eli fall into a comforting sleep that she yearned to have one day again. After she returned to the hospital on Saturday, she could obviously see that her father had had an affair and that he was moving out to live with her. Helen was baffled to see such a decision made without her, and they continued to fight about it. Clare reached her breaking point by then, and left with only one sentence.

"What have I done?" She groaned as she watched the water. She had done this for her own freedom, yet it led her to have no bed, no comfort. The only thing that brought her here was her conscience.

Clare's phone lightly vibrated in her pocket as her lassitude started to overwhelm her. She was so tired that she could barely go on a minute without yawning. She took out the phone carefully in case it would slip out of her hands and into the dark water. Noticing that it was Adam, she flipped open her phone and took the call.

"Clare?" Adam asked after a long minute of silence. Clare made a noise in the back of her throat; a humming noise loud enough for the cell phone to catch. "Clare? Are you alright?" Adam hastily asked as Clare could hear that he was in a car.

"I'm tired." She yawned as she looked down at the water again. Clare wondered if Adam could hear the waves crashing against the poles that held the walk in place.

"Don't fall asleep, damn it! Where are you?" Clare could feel unconsciousness overwhelm her slightly as she looked for the words to say.

"Did you ever wonder how far down a man would have to go in order to reach the bottom, and would he die if he did so?" She asked nonchalantly, as if to give Adam a clue as to where she was.

"What?" Adam asked, oblivious to the clue.

Clare shook her head, smiling down at the waters. "I want to try it, but I'd be destined to drown." She laughed lightly as she noticed that she had never felt this way before. She had always been well rested.

"Clare!" Adam yelled from the phone. "Don't do it." He urged, trying to keep her on the line.

"I won't." She said, sleep coming over her.

* * *

"Damn it!" Adam yelled once again as he noticed that Clare had fallen asleep. Eli looked curiously at him as he closed the phone.

"What happened?" He asked as he glanced at Adam, who now gripped the phone.

"She… didn't make sense!" He growled, frustrated. "She was saying weird things, and then fell asleep." Eli winced slightly as he pushed the gas harder, feeling the wound in his chest. Staying away from Clare's mellifluous voice made him insane.

"What was she saying?" He asked calmly, trying to recompose a calm expression.

"She was saying things about how far down someone could go until he or she reached the bottom, and if he or she would die doing it. And then she said something about if she did it she would drown…" Adam and Eli exchanged wide eye glances.

"The beach." He stated, losing feeling in his body. _Was she _this_ insane?_

Adam shook his head, "I told her not to do it, and she said she wouldn't. I assume that she fell asleep before I could get anything else out of her." Eli sighed, turning off the highway and into a town nearby. He felt amused that she had walked this far by foot in about a day; she would've had to been furtive to get that far.

"These aren't easy roads to get by unharmed." He said, seeing Adam nod from his peripheral vision. The beach wasn't much farther, but they would have to look for Clare on foot.

"You know," Adam said, watching Eli slowly get out of the driver's seat. "I told you not to come with me. You're not healed."

Eli gave Adam death glare. "Pardon me for not being pyrrhic. If Clare dies, I am going to be next in line. I can't afford to lose two girls who are important in my life!" Adam looked at his best friend warily while Eli fell back into the seat.

"I'll go get her." Adam concluded, putting both of his hands in the air to stop Eli from getting back up. "You stay there." He demanded, before jogging off in search of Clare.


	2. The Halcyon Beach

**I hope this is good =\ I had had a more intense chapter but it didn't work well with the whole story. So please, bare with me.**

**R&R =)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi**

* * *

The sound of the waves engulfed Clare's memory as she drifted in and out of consciousness. She smiled happily, her eyes still closed as she smelled the wondrous salty smell once again. _I could live here forever,_ Clare thought as she got up from her fetal position, stretching out her arms.

She froze automatically, thinking about Adam. She hadn't noticed that she had ended the call, so what had happened? She looked at her phone, seeing that she hadn't missed any phone calls and did not receive any text messages. Clare scoffed; her parents didn't have the slightest fear of what could've happened to their daughter? She tossed the phone next to her side, uninterested in it.

"Adam," she sighed. "Where are you?" It was like the waves would answer her at any moment since it was the only sound in the distance. Clare's stomach growled, notifying her for breakfast. Clare got up from where she sat, lightheaded, and started walking towards the boardwalk in search for something familiar.

* * *

Eli fumbled with the radio, looking for a metal, if not rock, music channel that would conquer his boredom, but found nothing. The song _Kids _by MGMT was playing softly in the background as his thoughts came back to Clare. He would've bet a large amount of money that she was interested in songs that were upbeat like this one. He pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes; Adam had left him the night before, leaving his best friend stranded in his own car to sleep across the seating.

"The hell with this!" He spat after hearing enough of the song, almost yanking the keys out of the ignition. He hastily got out of the seat, with several winces and groans, and locked the car, walking towards the beach. Stumbling a few times, he successfully reached the halcyon beach which annoyed him; the beach was too comforting.

Eli now wondered if he loved Clare, seeing that he had come out of the hospital a week early to find where she had run off to. It was ineffable to think that Clare would run away without telling Adam or himself. His pace quickened as he saw the sun finally rising to the early morning, in hope to see one of the two familiar faces.

* * *

Clare wished that she would lilt like many of the people that now surrounded the beach, but now her walk was desultory. She needed food, which was a quarter mile down to the boardwalk. Clare felt like she was in a different world from everyone. The murmurous from everyone was droned in her ears, like she was underwater. It wasn't satisfying to her; she wanted to be normal again. _As soon as I find food, I _will_ be normal again,_ she thought, smiling as she saw one of the food stands. Luckily, the line was not long and in minutes she found herself ordering.

Clare ate on one of the benches, content. Now that her hunger was gone, and the duffel bag seemed to be easier to hold, she could now look for familiar faces on the beach. She brought out her phone again, seeing that Adam had called once. She shrugged it off, figuring that she would see him if the two boys had decided to come find her.

Walking the way that she had come, she decided to walk off of the boardwalk and onto the roads, seeing if there were hotels around. In case they could not find her by the end of the day, she would use the money she had been saving to check her into a hotel. Clare breathed in deeply, inhaling petrichor. Clare's brows furrowed; she hadn't noticed any rain, and she was one hundred percent dry. She shrugged off the thought as she walked the streets, finding three hotels that outlined the beach that she had slept on. She smiled contentedly.

* * *

Adam groaned to himself for the third time; he had been looking for Clare all night. The only place that he hadn't looked was the walk, which frightened him at the thought. He didn't trust those things; they could break at any second and send you plummeting into the deep waters. The worse part was that the end of the walk was now lined, so anyone could fall in. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought about it; would that be where Clare was?

He had slept on the beach, waking up with sand in his mouth. He spit it out repeatedly, acknowledging that he needed to rinse his mouth out with water. He bought himself a water bottle, almost using the whole bottle to get out of the bitter taste. _What I do for Clare and Eli,_ he hastily thought to himself, continuing his search. Chatoyant, Adam searched every part of the boardwalk to find nothing. He knew that if he went back to Eli that he would injure himself further, and so he stayed away from 1959 Cadillac Hearse that remained in one of the parking lots at the end of the beach.

"Clare." He nearly whispered as he saw a brunette curly haired girl with a duffel bag nearing her way to the road. He had found her. "Clare!" He yelled, catching the eye of many bystanders, and started to sprint in Clare's direction.

Clare obviously didn't hear him, so he decided to follow her. He was too tired to sprint the distance that stood between him, and was still breathing raggedly so he did not have the power to yell her name again. Adam acknowledged that Clare still looked fetching, even though she had slept on the beach. Her bed head blended in with many others, giving her a beach look. Adam snorted to himself, and froze as he saw that Clare was looking at hotels. _Is she seriously thinking of staying here?_

Adam decided that now would be the time for him to close the gap between him and Clare, which is what he did. He put a hand on her shoulder, which she fearfully escaped from. She put a hand to her heart, calming down her breathing.

"You scared the hell out of me, Adam!" She said as she slapped his arm lightly. Adam chuckled.

"Your first curse word-if only Eli was here to experience that moment." Adam said, rocking back and forth on his heels.

"So you found me." She stated, looking guilty. Her blue eyes were now clouded with reminders of why she had left.

"No duh." He added sarcastically, before urging her to follow him. "Eli insisted that he came with me, which I couldn't refuse to." Clare's eyes widened as she started to protest, but he beat her to it. "He just wanted to make sure that you were safe." Adam finished.

Clare scratched her head. "I'm sorry I put you guys through this trouble." She said, looking up at Adam. Adam could tell that she had done it for a good reason. "I just couldn't stay there. It was too much."

Adam nodded. "I understand; you usually do what you think is right. But if you have any issues, you can always come to Eli or me. We will help you." As they neared the hearse, Adam froze.

"What's wrong?" Clare asked, oblivious that the hearse was empty.

"Eli's not here."


	3. The Foudroyant Eyes of Clare Edwards

**Once again, I am on vacation, so I may take longer to upload new chapters. I get this sudden urge to write though, and then I have to (haha).**

**I also would love to hear what you think of the story; criticism included.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi**

* * *

Eli wished that he had run away from Degrassi during a _Night in Vegas_, so then he could sprint away from the evocative girls that had been bothering him all day. Erstwhile he wouldn't mind it, but for now he only had one girl that he intended on finding and had no other person in mind. It did not help that girls were attracted to Eli, flirting with him as he mentally cursed at himself. The sun was now setting and Eli hadn't found Adam or Clare on the beach. _Maybe they have found each other,_ he thought as he neared the other end of the beach, preparing himself to go back to Morty.

The only panacea that Eli could think of was to go back to Morty. If Adam had persuaded Clare to come back with him, surely enough they would go to the hearse in search of him. He had been reckless and stupid to leave the parking lot for his own humanity. His chest was now worse than ever and he couldn't walk one foot without wincing.

"Hello." A small voice said, and for a second Eli thought that he was now hallucinating. But there before him was a redolent teenage girl who was almost the same height as him, her light brown eyes boring a hole into his now inure emerald eyes. Eli did not recognize the girl, and shrugged it off as he nodded his greeting. "You look hurt." She stated, receiving a snort from Eli. _Was that not obvious?_ Eli thought as he tried to get away from the girl. "I think you need to go the hospital." Eli now was getting upset with the girl and desired to disappear from sight.

"I don't need help thanks." He hastily spat, walking faster. If God could help him now, then he would go to church once before he died. Of course, the girl followed him in an annoying manner.

"I'm Jess." She stated, putting out her hand. Eli shook his head, seeing that Jess' smile faltered. "I go to Degrassi. And you're Eli Goldsworthy." Eli gaped for a minute before he turned to Jess.

"I don't care about you, Jess." He warily concluded before walking again. He hoped that once he reached Morty, it would become his talisman and Jess would become afraid of him. Morty had that impression on many people, including ones like Jess. "Would you please leave me alone?" He almost pleaded, reaching the parking lot. He didn't see Adam or Clare in sight of the car, and sighed deeply, feeling the wound once more. He grunted, his knees hitting the gravel, and clamped his eyes shut.

"You need help!" Jess shouted, kneeling down next to the injured teenager. Eli shook his head, his eyes still shut. Jess put a hand on his right shoulder, which he shrugged off rather quickly, and put her hands up in defeat. "Fine; if you want to die on the ground, go ahead and die. I was just trying to help." Eli noticed that Jess finally sounded aggravated, and hoped that maybe it would be enough for her to leave him alone. He also hoped that she wasn't a junior.

* * *

Clare brought out the money she had been saving and reserved a hotel room for Adam and her. She sighed once they got the hotel keys, and smiled up at Adam reassuringly. Adam had been troubled that Eli hadn't listened to his demands, but could not leave Clare alone. He knew that although Eli was injured, Clare would be more vulnerable to the people around the beach.

Clare pressed the _5_ button which lit up, the elevator hastily reaching the level within twenty seconds.

"It's going to be OK, Adam; we'll look for Eli tomorrow." Clare said, seeing that Adam's eyes were full of emotion. She felt sympathy for her transgendered friend as they walked to their room in the dully lit hallway. Clare slid the key in, feeling the door unlock. She opened it to see a cream colored room that had a view of the ocean. She smiled contentedly as she walked towards the window, setting down her duffel bag next to the bed.

Meanwhile, Adam brought out his phone and attempted calling Eli once again. He prayed that God would hear him out this one time and have Eli pick up the phone, but it didn't work. Adam's face fell even farther than it had been, but then he looked at Clare as she smiled out the window. "How are we going to find him?" he quietly murmured, and Clare slowly turned around. Clare shrugged, her expression guarded from him, and walked over to where he stood.

"We'll find him Adam; I promise." She said, but somewhere deep down she regretted promising. She wasn't a person who backed down from her promises, but she didn't know whether or not she could keep this one.

* * *

Eli unlocked the door slowly, wishing he could cry. He missed the foudroyant eyes of Clare Edwards, the ones that he hadn't seen for days. He wanted to tell her how he felt about her; how sorry he was that he hadn't run when she instructed to do so; sorry that he had been such a pest at times. He wanted to apologize to her about everything, but he couldn't. Everything was done for a reason that he couldn't decipher. He also missed her ebullient personality which made him change ever so slightly.

"Clare," he said to no one. "I'm going to find you." His voice wavered as he said her name, but then he became brave. Clare. Clare Edwards. She was the girl who would take a knife for him if she could. She would die for him. Clare edwards was one of the most valuable things in his life; he couldn't stop looking for her. If she died, he had no reason to live. Even Julia hadn't been enough for him to die. Eli grabbed his phone out of his pocket, acknowledging that there were calls from a probably worried Adam Torres, but none from Clare. Was she still missing? Were they together, searching for him? He noticed that Adam had called just two minutes ago-they must've been to Morty.

He sighed as he closed his cell phone, drifting off into a deep sleep.

* * *

By midnight Adam was still wide awake, staring at the window that was placed in front of Clare's body. The beach was now caliginous, something that reminded Adam of his _Goon_ comic book. He forgot to bring them with him while he searched for Clare. The now loquacious Clare Edwards was now sound asleep, her breathing the only sound that surrounded him. He was happy that he had found Clare, but didn't expect to lose Eli in the process. Adam snorted to himself. _It was _him_ who didn't listen,_ he thought, turning away from the window. He shut his eyes tightly, praying for the night to be over with. He wearily opened his eyes to see that nothing had changed; a minute had gone by. Adam mentally cursed at almost everyone for the position he was now in.

He kept telling himself that Clare was right; they would find Eli no matter what. His eyes shut once again, and for once he sighed contentedly, finally falling asleep.


End file.
